Door frame anchor



Feb. 6, 1962 T. J. TRUMAN ETAL DOOR FRAME ANCHOR Filed June 30, 1960' INVENTOR5 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 EQD ORE J. TRUMAN ifLLiAM E HARDER iii ATTORNEY Feb. 6, 1962 T. J. TRUMAN ETAL DOOR FRAME ANCHOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 30, 1960 FIG. 7.

9 9 a 8 a2 1 m m w. 1 m m m k Kt l x e C 7 7 r m C m C m 0 w O @i c J m f 6% Q d m h 9/ 6-- 7 u J x Q u m A a b m m q Q; Q Q @UAJ" TJ U O w g C 4 Iatented Feb. 6, 1962 3,019,868 DOOR FRAME ANCI-IUR Theodore J. Truman, Colurnhiana, and William F.

Harder, Hubbard, (lhio, assignors to Republic Steel Corporation, (Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of New Jersey Filed June 30, 1960, Ser. No. 40,070 1 Claim. (fill. 185 46) This invention relates to an improvement in anchors for metal door frames, such for example as those shown and consequently results in increased costs of production.

Moreover, different types of reinforcing and anchor plates require additional handling both at the time'of manu- -facture, during storage, and also at the time of installation, thereby increasing the labor element of installation.

In View of the foregoing disadvantages of current door frame reinforcing and anchoring practice, the present invention has primarily in view the provision of a single one-piece door anchor which is universal in the sense that it may be used at either the strike plate side or hinge side of a door frame. That is to say, the anchor plate cannot only be made from a single stamping, but can also be shaped to provide welding tabs for securing the plate to the inside face of the metal door frame, while the stud engaging members offset in the other direction may be utilized to secure the anchor to the door frame opening in the wall. In that connection, the anchor of the present invention is of substantially identical construction at its top and bottom edges, such edges being determined by the manner in which the plate fits within the door channel, thereby making the anchor reversible top for bottom to accomplish the desired purpose.

A further object of the invention is to provide an anchor which takes into account the fact that it is necessary to use the same anchor for both the hinge side and the lock strike side of the door frame. For example, the invention proposes to oifset the welding tabs from one and the same side of the anchor plate and to offset the stud attaching flanges from the opposite and other side of the plate. The welding tabs are oliset from the plane of the same side plate in a manner to compensate for the hinge depressions in the door frame so that the hinge may be set flush in the depression while, at the same time, the body of the plate is provided with an opening at one side of its vertical center line so that when it is reversed top for bottom, it will suit either the hinge side or the lock strike side of the door frame.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an anchor which will carry the door load directly to the wall structure, reducing the function of the frame to that of a closure or trim member and eliminating separate hardware reinforcement parts with the result that the accruing advantages are that less parts are required, the operations in the shop are reduced, and stock thicknesses from 18 gauge to 22 gauge may be readily used.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE'l is a partial sideelevation of one corner of a metal door frame showing the anchor in place.

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal cross section taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an elevation, partly in section, looking at the side of the door frame constituting the jamb to which the hinge is connected, the anchor being shown in dotted lines.

FIGURE 4 is a detail elevation of the opposite jamb of the door frame where the lock strike is located and showing the lock strike opening of the anchor in full lines, whereas, in FIGURE 3 it appears in dotted lines.

FIGURE 5 is a front perspective view of the improved anchor.

FIGURE 6 is a front elevation. 7

FIGURE 7 is a side elevation of the anchor shown in FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 8 is a top plan view.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 to 4, it may be pointed out that the metal door frame designated generally as A is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, of substantially channel shape formation in both the jamb and lintel portions. The inclined sides or returns A of the jamb and lintel portions of the door frame are intended to match the wall surface W in any appropriate manner. v

Also as shown in FIG. 3, the outer face of the web of the jamb channel is provided with a hinge recess B, while in FIG. 4, the opposite jamb is provided with the strike plate recess B. The depression in each jamb is intended to permit the hinges and strike plates to be mounted flush with the outer face of the jamb.

The improved anchor is designated generally as C and is shown in its operative applied positions in FIGS. 1-4, while the anchor details are shown in FIGS. 5-8.

Referring to the perspective view, FIG. 5, it will be seen that the anchor C includes a body plate 1 having a top edge 2 and a bottom edge 3 and the opposite 4-0 side edges 4 and 5 said plate being co-planar between all of said edges and reversible edge for edge.

The front face C of the plate 1 is provided with a pair of metal door frame connecting tabs 6, 6, at the top edge and a similar pair of tabs 7, 7 at the bottom edge. These tabs are formed from the body of the plate and are connected therewith by offset neck portions 6 -6 and T -7 respectively. The purpose of this offsetting is, as clearly shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, for example, to clear the hinge depression B and the lock strike depression B. In other Words, the offset neck portions 6 6 and 7 -4 insure that there will be no interference with the hinge and strike plate depressions of the door frame when the anchor is reversed top for bottom.

Referring to FIGS. 5-8, it will also be seen that the top and bottom edges 2 and 3 respectively, of rear face C of the plate are provided with the medially disposed rearwardly extending horizontal flanges 8 which in turn have integral therewith the angularly disposed stud or doorway attaching flanges 9, 9. As shown, the ends of these anchoring flanges are provided with openings for receiving screws or nails and the portions having the openings can be bent at right angles at installation to straddle the stud, assuming, of course, that the anchor is to be anchored to a wooden stud. In case the anchor is to be embedded in a masonry door opening, slight variations in the attaching flanges may be required.

The body of the plate 1 is provided with an opening 10 (FIG. 6) at one side of its vertical center line xx. It will now be apparent by reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 that the described top and bottom edges of the anchor may be reversed according to whether they are to be used at the hinge side or the lock plate side of the door frame. Thus only one plate needs to be manufactured and likewise the same type of plate can be readily connected and conveniently installed.

Assuming that the metallic door frame including the jamb and lintel sections is ready to be anchored in place,

it will be understood that the first operation would be to secure the tabs 6, 6 and 7,7, to the inside face of the door channel by welding.

Normally only three plates are required, two plates at the hinge side and one plate at the lock strike side.

Assuming that the anchors C have been secured to the inside face of the door frame in accordance with their intended positions, that is, for example, upright as shown in FIGURE 3 or inverted as shown in FIGURE 4, the attaching flanges 9 may then be applied to the studding of the door frame.

As will be clear from FIGURES 3, 4, and 6, the body of the plate 1 is provided at the opposite sides of the opening 10 with screw holes 10*. Also, the body of the plate is provided adjacent its opposite edge 5 with screw holes 1 1 and 1 to correspond with similar holes in the door jarnb and to receive the hinge fastenings. All holes are punched to leave a portion of the metal from which they are extruded to stiifen the strike plate and binge attaching areas as shown in FIGURE 7.

From the foregoing it will now be seen that the present invention provides a single anchor plate which is so constructed that it performs a dual duty in the respect that it may be used at either the hinge side or the lock strike side of the .door frame.

The cut-out 10 and a portion of the metal surrounding the same and having fastener receiving openings 10* and 10* comprises the reinforcing plate for the lock strike. The fastener receiving holes 1 1*, 1, with a portion of the metal from which they are extruded comprise the reinforcing plate for the hinge. In past practice these areas would have required two distinct plate forms attached to the jarnbs to support and secure the lock strike and the hinges respectively. Thus, the present invention claims the novelty and advantage of combining the lock strike reinforcing plate, the hinge reinforcing plate and a jamb to wall coupling anchor. There is simplicity and economy in this combination with the resulting advantage that the door loads are supported directly to the wall construction rather than to reinforcing plates, then to the door frame, and then to anchors, and finally to the wall.

Moreover, from the standpoint of simplicity of manufacture, and installation, a comparison between the pre vious methods and the present, emphasize the conception disclosed herein. For example, all frames currently in use, four anchors and two hinges are required on one frame jamb; and four anchors and one strike reinforcement on the other jamb, making a total of eleven parts in all. With the present arrangement only six parts are required, namely three on each jamb. Thus, three anchors are welded to each jamb. On the hinge side two of them function as both anchor and reinforcement and one as an anchor only. On the lock side one anchor acts as both lock strike reinforcement and the other two anchors serve as anchors only.

We claim:

As an article of manufacture, an anchor for metallic door frames of substantially channel form and having hinge depressions, said anchor including a body plate of coplanar form between top, bottom, and opposite side edges and presenting a front face and a rear face and; reversible edge for edge, said body plate having a latch plate opening at one side of a center line intersecting said top and bottom edges, upper and lower pairs of door frame welding tabs projecting from said front face of the plate and adapted to extend into the channel of the door frame for attachment to a portion of the channel, said tab oifset from said front face at substantially right angles to their junction with the plate to provide clearance for hinge depressions in the door frame, and stud attaching flanges projecting from the rear face of the plate, said flanges including a portion between said tabs disposed at right angles to the body of the plate and an angularly disposed terminal portion parallel to and offset from the rear face of the plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS anem a! 

